[GWSG] Ambivalent on trees; shelter?; climate march; welcome, NYT; not you, WSJ; Kerry's priority; ozone & food

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Yale’s Nadine Unger warns that so far as climate and health are concerned, forestation is a complex issue.  Planting trees is not a cure-all for climate problems, and not even necessarily beneficial as a climate action strategy, however pleasant and useful they are otherwise.  Thanks to Todd Sack for the item.  He reports from a conversation with a knowledgeable academic friend familiar with Unger's work that trees pose no local health hazard. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/opinion/to-save-the-planet-dont-plant-trees.html?emc=edit_tnt_20140919&nlid=43628374&tntemail0=y&_r=0
This op-ed concerning trees' release of VOCs that may affect the climate is new information and we will be watching for confirmations and for a better understanding of its implications.  A distinguished group of scientists has already strongly objected to Ungar’s piece.  http://news.mongabay.com/2014/0922-scientists-respond-to-dont-plant-trees-oped.html

2.  If you are planning a few hotter decades ahead, where do you go in the US?  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/science/on-a-warmer-planet-which-cities-will-be-safest.html?emc=edit_tnt_20140922&nlid=43628374&tntemail0=y  (Agreed, coastal FL is not a good bet, but until the oyster beds overheat or acidify and we have to go to all okra and field peas, there’s some good high land inland, at least down to Lake Okeechobee.  But shouldn’t we be putting our energy into eliminating fossil fuels, and building community action to that end, rather than succumbing to individualistic survival fantasies?)

3.  Over 310,000 marched for climate action in New York Sunday, Sept. 22, and tens of thousands marched in over 2800 other locations around the world.   http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/21/-sp-climate-change-protest-melbourne-london-new-york-protest  From the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-nn-climate-change-march-new-york-20140921-story.html  Peter Sinclair sees the march as a tipping point in the movement for climate action, mostly ignored by the major US TV networks.  http://climatecrocks.com/2014/09/21/the-tipping-point/

4.  For years the New York Times has been a climate disgrace, treating propagandists with respect and ignoring or distorting the climate issues of the day.  I have been scanning it mostly to keep current on denier talking points.  No longer.  They have appointed a climate editor who takes the task seriously, running actual science (item 1), gossip topics (item 2), and basics to bring their readership into the conversation, such as this piece on CO2.  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/science/carbon-dioxide-building-block-of-life-best-in-moderation.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=5  I am delighted that the Times has taken the issue on again.  Unfortunately, the digital Times is no longer free and a subscription is required if you read more than ten stories a month.  Worth it, I now say.  It is time the Guardian had some company among the major news sources in English.

5.  And then there is the Wall Street Journal and other Murdoch imitation news sources.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2014/sep/22/wall-street-journal-downplays-global-warming-risks

6.  John Kerry has put climate at the center of US diplomatic efforts, instructing all 275 US foreign missions, embassies, and consulates “to put this issue on the front burner in all of our interventions with host countries. . ..”  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/22/us-climate-change-john-kerry-un

7.  Climate disruption is already influencing food production.  Food quality and abundance in the coming years may depend on our ability to control ozone pollution, and to develop crops resistant to the gas.  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/science/testing-future-conditions-for-the-food-chain.html?emc=edit_th_20140923&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=43628374
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